


Can't Keep Up

by salty_limeade



Category: Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: "Lugnut you iron-brained idiot.", Discovery of secret identity, Drag Racer!Reader, First Meetings, Friendship, Illegal Street Racing, Other, Post-Episode: s2e5, Racing Buddies, Secret Identity, Undercover, blurr may be an interstellar cop but he aint no snitch, but before blurr gets cubified, i love him so much and his death brought me nothing but rage, lugnut we get it you want megatron to step on you, master disaster bouta get clapped by lawsuits, reader why you gotta attack decepticons?, you better believe this was made out of spite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28842264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salty_limeade/pseuds/salty_limeade
Summary: Being a drag racer in Detroit wasn't all fun and games. You had to worry about cops, crashing, and massive Decepticons falling from the sky trying to kill you....And also finding out your best friend was a robot. That too.
Relationships: Blurr & Reader, Blurr/Reader
Kudos: 38





	Can't Keep Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chrisnightmare](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrisnightmare/gifts).



> Good Evening Y'all! Bet none of you expected this, myself included! Is this me procrastinating working on sequels to two other oneshots? Yes. Will this motivate me to finish them? Maybe! 
> 
> If you're like me, and just absolutely livid over Blurr's death at the hands of Shockwave, and you're looking to drown your sorrows in some sort-of-fluffy fics, well you've come to the right place! This is meant to happen before the season 2 finale where our Baby Blue Boy gets tossed into space, but after Velocity.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

**12:32 PM**

He was late. He was never late. 

You drummed your fingers against the steering wheel, the purr of the engine beneath doing little to calm your nerves. Every car that passed over the bridge set you on edge, tensing for the sound of sirens and a bullhorn. You weren’t racing for a sponsor anymore, not after what happened with Master Disaster, but that didn’t mean you never raced  _ again _ . You were just,  _ selective. _ Your eyes shot to the time displayed on your dashboard. 

**12:37 PM**

“Tch! What the hell is taking him so long?” As if on cue, your backseat was illuminated courtesy of steadily approaching headlights along the canal. The tension left your shoulders, and you grinned as a very familiar blue speedster pulled alongside your window. 

“Well look who finally decided to show up! You almost had me nervous there Zippy.” You leaned out and rapped your knuckles gently against the other car’s passenger window in greeting. 

“You-know-my-name-is-not-Zippy! We’ve-been-over-this-before, it’s-Blurr! The-only-being-who-calls-me-Zippy-is-you. And-I-was-later-than-expected-only-because-I-had-important-duties-to-attend-to-that-came-up-rather-unexpectedly.” Yep, good ol’e Blurr. 

Any racer worth their engine oil knew about the Blue Racer, supposedly the fastest one in Detroit, possibly the world! That, and he was only ever seen on Street Demon whenever the boss thought the others were getting a little too chummy. Despite working with one of the most infamous race organizers as muscle, nobody, not even Master Disaster, knew his face, name, or even what he sounded like. Nobody, except for you, that is. Well, everything except the face part.

“So, three laps around the canal and back sound good to you?” Blurr revved his engine and you winced at the loudness of the action, still paranoid of being caught. 

“On-the-count-of-three? Okay! One-two-three-GO!” Without another word, he punched the gas and raced off, leaving you sitting there staring at his retreating form. 

“Hey! That’s cheating and you know it!” Your tires squealed against the concrete as you shifted gears to catch up. Blurr, keeping true to his name, was practically a mile ahead of you, the dust his wheels kicked up blocking him from view. 

This was how your races usually went. You’d meet in a-preferably abandoned-area, race, he’d win, you would complain a bit, and then set up another time to meet. It was routine, predictable even. But never boring. 

He was never boring. 

* * *

  
  


_ “What the hell was that?! Are you  _ trying  _ to scare away all my viewers?!” Master Disaster was practically foaming at the mouth, pacing back and forth in his trailer while you looked on.  _

_ “He spun out. It’s mandatory to throw a caution and check if the driver is unresponsive, which  _ he was _.” This wasn’t what you had been expecting when the best race organizer in all of Detroit had contacted you for one of his gigs. You’d worked with dozens of other organizers, some of them in different states even, but this self-proclaimed  _ Master  _ seemed to live up to the second part of his title, unfortunately. Suddenly, he was in your face, chest to chest and his voice dangerously low.  _

_ “Listen here punk…. You’re working for me now, and when you do that, you play by my rules. I don’t need some self-righteous little street-rat trying to get us all caught because of some poorly-timed heroics! You got that?” You sneered down at him, disgust curling in your gut. _

_ “Yeah…. Yeah I got it.” You shoved the door of the trailer open with your shoulder and made quick strides to your car, trying your best to ignore the side-eyes from the others. Nobody said anything, all too aware of the one empty slot. You peeled off to a more secluded section of the abandoned highway your race was occupying, pulling off to the side of the road underneath a street lamp.  _

_ ‘Poor kid, shouldn’t have taken that turn so wide….’ _

_ He was young. Young and brave and stupid like you were back in the day, like all kids were, you guessed. He was friendly too, that’s what hurt the most. All smiles and ‘hellos’, eagerly greeting every other racer, asking for advice, cracking jokes….  _

_ But now…. Now he was lying in a hospital bed, facing a 2000$ fine and jail time. All because of one lousy mistake. You told him. You  _ **_told_ ** _ him….  _

_ You let your head thump against the steering wheel, your breathing erratic. 1…. 2…. 3…. In…. and out…. _

_ The revving of an engine snapped you out of your building panic. A car was approaching, and fast. You cursed.  _

_ ‘If that sick  _ bastard  _ wants a piece of my mind….’ But it wasn’t Master Disaster, but rather, his obedient little  _ **_pet_ ** _. The Blue Racer. The one who has a reputation for playing dirty, for running too-good racers off the road just so his boss can keep his high ratings and even higher levels of injury and risk.  _

_ He pulled up next to your window, close enough to brush against your mirror without scratching the paint.  _

_ ‘Great, just what I needed.’ _

_ “Look, buddy, you can tell  _ Master Disaster _ that I ain’t interested in doing anymore of his races. If he’s got a problem with that, he can take it up with me!” But the driver said nothing, in fact, you couldn’t even  _ see _ a driver considering how dark his window tint was. You shook your head, ready to bail, when he suddenly spoke.  _

_ “Thank-you.” You startled, whipping to face the racer.  _

_ “What’d you say?”  _

_ “I-said-’thank-you’, I-believe-that-such-things-are-considered-proper-etiquette-here?” He almost spoke too fast for you to understand him, but it sounded like he was standing right next to you rather than talking through a car door. It took a moment for you to comprehend what he was saying.  _

_ “Why…. why are you thanking me?”  _

_ “Because-you-did-the-noble-thing-despite-the-fact-that-it-put-not-only-yourself-but-others-at-risk-of-being-sent-to-the-stockade! It-is-very-respectable, something-that-seems-to-be-in-short-supply-here….” The last part was quieter, almost as if he didn’t intend to say it aloud, but it seemed you were no better when you- _

_ “If you think what I did was so ‘honorable’ then why didn’t you do it yourself?” You almost regretted your words, almost, but this was an opportunity you couldn’t pass up. Actually being able to question the elusive Blue Racer was something every cop and car enthusiast probably had wet dreams about.  _

_ It was clear your question had thrown him off his rhythm. He paused, before speaking again, although this time picking his words more carefully and  _ much _ more slowly.  _

_ “Because Master Disaster has leverage over me, and even if I was in a position to afford compromising myself, I wouldn’t have been able to help. Not in the way you did….”  _

_ …. _

_ Well that cleared up absolutely nothing at all!  _

_ “You are just one big enigma aren’t you?” You leaned out your window, grinning incredulously at this ever-growing mystery that was the Blue Racer. With that, he seemed to regain some of his confidence.  _

_ “I-think-it-is-the-cultural-differences-that-cause-some-confusion. Perhaps-we-could-speak-more. Does-tomorrow-at-The-Plant-Place-at-midnight-work-for-you?” You blinked. _

_ “Do you mean…. The Packard Plant?” His engine rumbled.  _

_ “Yes-that-is-the-one! So-you-agree?” Uh…. _

_ “I guess?”  _

_ “Excellent! See-you-tomorrow-then!” And without another word, the Blue Racer took off into the night, leaving you sitting there wondering just what it is that you got yourself into this time.  _

* * *

Blurr slowed to what he considered a crawl and rolled alongside you. 

“This-is-the-last-lap! Think-you-can-still-win?” You shot him a smirk before shifting gears. 

“Wouldn’t be me if I didn’t!” You floored it, trying to put as much distance between you and your opponent as possible. Your headstart would do little in changing the outcome, but it wasn’t like that mattered in the end. You raced Blurr because it was fun, not because you wanted to win. You raced him because he was your friend and-!

A dark silhouette was heading straight for you!

“Watch it!” You spun out in an attempt to avoid the massive Decepticon that had crashed where your car was just moments prior, slamming into the concrete wall of the canal in the process. He was big, even for a ‘Con, hunched over with a single blood-red eye that locked onto you within seconds, his claw-like hands flexed and rotated as he took lumbering steps towards you. 

“Puny organic! How dare you interrupt the plans of the mighty Megatron with your presence! You will be eradicated for such transgressions!” You tried to reverse, but your engine only spluttered and stalled. 

_ ‘Shit! Shit, shit, shit, c’mon! Now ain’t the time to be unreliable darlin’!’  _

The light shining from the fluorescent street bulbs was suddenly snuffed out as a shadow cast over you. Looking up in horror, you barely had time to comprehend the massive fist that was about to turn you into a red smear across the concrete, when a sudden blue streak tackled the Decepticon to the ground. 

“Augh! Autobot filth!” The Decepticon roared, flailing his limbs wildly about in an attempt to squish the smaller being darting in between his legs. He was a bright turquoise color, and had sharp angles and sleek curves with a prominent spike in the center of his head, giving him a very futuristic look. He was agile, and vicious battling the Decepticon, and-!

“Blurr?!” 

The Autobot who just _ irrefutably _ responded to the name of your friend was suddenly punted into a concrete column in his moment of distraction. The column shattered and he lay there unmoving, even as the Decepticon stomped ever closer to him. 

“I will rip your spark from your offline frame Autobot! Prepare to meet your-!”

“Hey, you bucket-of-bolts! Get the hell away from him!” You threw the nearest object, a rather large rock, straight at the back of his stupid head, getting ready to throw another before you were knocked off your feet by a massive tremor in the ground courtesy of the ‘Con. 

“You dare strike the right hand of Megatron?! You will pay with your life!” You dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the massive fist that tried to turn you into paste and made a beeline for his legs. With a single leap, you latched onto the leg of the massive alien and held on for dear life. 

“Hey! What are you doing?! Get out from there, NOW!” He stomped this way and that, trying to shake you off, but you held on with a vengeance. Looked like all that muscle had a downsize after all! But so did having human hands. Despite your belief that you could, it was apparent you wouldn’t be capable of holding on forever. 

With a final decisive kick, you came flying off of the mech’s leg, rolling to a stop a good few meters away, too disoriented to try and escape a second time. 

**STOMP**

“Your fight was admirable, for an  _ organic. _ ” Your ears were ringing, and you thought you tasted copper on your tongue. 

**STOMP**

“But I refuse to return to my master empty-handed!” Was your leg supposed to bend like that?

**STOMP**

“As soon as I crush you, I will bring the Allspark fragment  _ and  _ the Autobot’s head to him!” You tried to prop yourself up on your elbows, but your fingers barely twitched. You could only watch as the Decepticon lifted his foot to crush you to death, your mind slowly succumbing to the growing darkness. The last thing you heard before falling unconscious was the shriek of tearing metal and an anguished howl. 

* * *

“.... -kay?.... Can…. hear-me?....” 

_ ‘Where…. Where were you? What happened?’ _

“Y/N!” 

Your eyes snapped open and you sat up with a gasp, causing the mech hovering over you to jerk back suddenly. Human eyes met Cybertronian optics, and all was silent for a total two seconds. A new record…. One that wasn’t meant to last. 

“Y/N! Oh-thank-the-Allspark-you’re-okay- _ are-you-okay? _ -you-weren't-moving-and-I-remembered-that-humans'-circuitry-is-much-more-fragile-and-squishy-than-mine-but-I’m-not-a-medbot-and-I-didn’t-know-what-to-look-for-but-I-know-an-injury-when-I-see-one-and-by- _ Primus _ -don’t-EVER-do-something-that-reckless-again-you-almost-gave-me-a-spark-attack-!”

“.... What?” 

“What-do-mean-”what”? Is-your-processor-damaged?! Oh-Primus-it-is-isn’t-it!” 

Oh.....  _ Oh. _

“Blurr….?” The robot perked up, but otherwise kept kneeling by your side, seemingly too scared to try and move you. 

“Yes?” You took a deep breath, before letting yourself flop back onto the pavement. 

He was an Autobot. Your friend, who you have known for the past seven months, was an alien from outer space that could turn into a car. 

….

_ ‘Bastard.’ _

“You are the biggest cheater I have ever  _ met  _ Blurr.” 

….

“Wh-”

“Like are you fucking kidding me?!” The mech flinched back as you suddenly sat up and pointed at him accusingly. 

“This entire time we’ve been racing, I thought you were just using some off-the-grid oil, but you’re an  _ Autobot _ ?! Like, how the hell am I supposed to have a chance against an Autobot?!” 

Blurr was still crouched on his haunches, looking more confused by the second. He opened his intake but you cut him off again. 

“I mean, I knew there was something sketchy about the whole thing, but I thought you didn’t wanna tell me because it was something obvious or embarrassing! And this whole time you were a-! You’re a fucking-!” You doubled over and screamed into your hands, the strangeness of the whole situation finally catching up to you. You sat there, the only sound being your ragged breathing and the gentle hum of internal fans. 

“If…. If-it's-any-consolation-I-was-planning-on-telling-you-as-soon-as-my-surveillance-was-finished.” You looked over at the mech who was sitting cross-legged a few feet from you. Despite the fact that he was three-times your size, you would call the expression on his face sheepish. You snorted. 

“Oh yeah? And what’re you “surveilling”, rush-hour traffic in detroit?” He chuckled, but his amusement was quickly wiped away. 

“No-actually-I'm-keeping-an-eye-on-the-space-bridge-repair-crew-that-crashed-here-fifty-stellar-cycles-ago-and-their-involvement-with-the-Allspark-and-the-increase-in-Decepticon-activity-as-a-result. I-was-meant-to-be-completely- _ undercover _ -but-you-can-see-how-well-that’s-gone!” He huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at the large crater left over from the Decepticon. Speaking of….

“Hey, uh,” you looked around warily, “where exactly  _ is  _ that Con that almost killed us?” Blurr mumbled something under his breath. All it took was a raised eyebrow for him to repeat himself. 

“I-chased-him-off. It-was-more-difficult-than-I-thought-it-would-be-but, I-had-to- _ earn _ -my-title-as-agent-afterall.” 

“Oh! Uh, cool….”

….

Damn you hated this. This…. Deafening, awkward silence. You looked at Blurr out of the corner of your eye, and your throat suddenly felt tight. He wasn’t looking at you, in fact, it seemed he was trying to look anywhere  _ but  _ you. He was hugging his knees to his chest, and there was an emotion on his face that you couldn’t quite place. You sighed, locking your eyes onto the spot where he had hit the canal. 

“I’m not mad…. Okay I’m a little mad but I understand  _ why  _ you kept your identity a secret. I just…. This is a lot to process, y’know? Finding out your friend is secretly an alien from outer space who is also in the midst of a civil war isn’t exactly what one expects to hear one day. But whatever, you can just give me the details anyway.” 

“I-know-I’m-sorry-I’ll-be-gone-soon-. Wait-what-did-you-just-say?” You smirked. 

“What? You really think I’m gonna chase you off because you're a different species? Do I look that shallow? It’s shocking yeah, but you’re still my friend Blurr, finding out who you are isn’t going to change that anytime soon.” All of the tension seemed to just melt off of him, and your heart practically stopped at the warm smile his mouth curved into once your words registered. 

“Thank, you. For giving me a chance.”

“Well, you can thank me by answering all my questions on the way to the hospital.  _ Cause I’m pretty sure I’m bleeding internally and my leg is really broken. _ ” Blurr’s optics snapped down to look at your folded leg, and the calm he had before was instantly shattered. 

“By-the-Allspark! Why-didn’t-you-say-something-sooner! Here, let-me-just-!” Much gentler than you would’ve guessed, considering the fact that he was a giant robot, Blurr scooped you up into his servos and held you to his chest. 

“Don’t-move, okay?” You gasped as he suddenly began to transform. Metal shifted around and under you until you were safely buckled into the front seat. You gave a low whistle, and Blurr’s engine thrummed happily. 

“I-knew-you’d-like-it! But-let’s-get-you-to-an-organic-repair-shop-first.” 

“Don’tcha mean a hospital?”

“Sure!”

….

“Where-exactly- _ is _ -this-hospital?” 

  
You sighed, tonight was going to be one  _ long  _ night. 

**Author's Note:**

> Detroit Hospital nurse, who is currently running on three cups of coffee and two hours of sleep, having just seen a giant robot trying to check in a human that looks like they took a tumble down a steep cliff while simultaneously fighting off rabid raccoons: ....What the fu-


End file.
